As of the mid-year review for the fiscal year 2024/25, the government’s outstanding public debt has exceeded NPR 25 trillion 36 billion. According to a report from the Public Debt Management Office, government debt increased by NPR 102 billion in just the past six months.
At the start of the fiscal year, the total public debt was NPR 24 trillion 34 billion 90 million, and by the end of Poush (mid-January), it increased by NPR 102 billion 30 million, reaching a total public debt of NPR 25 trillion 36 billion 130 million, which constitutes 44.46% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Foreign debt accounts for 51.31% of the total public debt, or NPR 13 trillion 1 billion 41 million 730 thousand, which is 22.81% of GDP. Domestic debt, on the other hand, constitutes 48.68%, or NPR 12 trillion 34 billion 71 million 410 thousand, making up 21.64% of GDP.
The government had set a target to raise a total of NPR 5 trillion 47 billion in loans for the current fiscal year, and by Poush, 43.89% of this target had been achieved, with NPR 240 billion 8 million raised. The target for raising domestic debt was NPR 3 trillion 30 billion, and by Poush, 54.86% of that target had been reached, with NPR 181 billion 5 million raised. For foreign debt, the target was NPR 2 trillion 17 billion, and 27.20% of that goal, or NPR 59 billion 3 million, was achieved.
For debt servicing, the government allocated NPR 4 trillion 2 billion 85 million in the budget, and by Poush, NPR 182 billion 40 million had been spent, representing 45.28% of the annual budget for debt service. This debt service expenditure accounts for 3.20% of GDP.
